1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for automatically setting the point of operation of an end effector, i.e., a tool tip point (TCP), in an industrial robot.
2. Description of the Related Art
In mounting a tool on a tool mounting surface of a wrist portion, i.e., a faceplate, of a robot, the coordinate position of a tool tip point, in a faceplate coordinate system having its origin on the center point of the faceplate, must be set. When using a tool whose tip point position is unknown, therefore, such setting is conventionally effected by determining the coordinate position of the tool tip point on the basis of design drawings of the tool, and manually inputting numerical values indicative of the position into a control device of the robot.
However, the design drawings of the tool are often unavailable. In such a case, the coordinate position of the tool is conventionally set in the aforesaid manner after determining the position from actual measurements of various parts of the tool obtained by means of a measuring instrument. Actually measuring the tool, however, is troublesome and subject to substantial errors.